weekend 28 2022 – plus some wine…

By billn on July 18, 2022 #degustation

I don’t need to tell you that it’s hot – and tomorrow might reach 40°C in Burgundy – but at the weekend I was able to enjoy brunch atop the Niesen with its 2,362 metres of altitude – to be honest, I needed a pullover! For a place that I love so much I’m astounded that it’s nearly 4 years since my last visit – where did the time go during the covid-period?

Unsurprisingly, I’m a big fan of the mountains and particularly enjoy running the trials – that was until 3.5 weeks ago when I rolled over my left ankle at quite high speed – head in the clouds, eyes certainly not on the trail. That was me limping – and definitely not jogging – for a time. I just completed my second comeback jog today and think I’m now okay for alternate days of running. If there was anything ‘fortunate’ about my injury, it was the timing – I did this deed on the last possible day that I could cancel (for free) my hotel for the mountain race that I’d trained for in Sedrun on the 9th. I was the 7th-fastest old person (ie over 50) in the race last year and running the same time this year would have given me 5th place – I was in better shape this year – apart from, it seems, my eyes 🙂 Anyway, I can’t wait to get back into those hills…

But there was also wine:

2020 Gauthier, Chablis Vieilles-Vignes
Crunchy, structural, slightly green – but tasty as always – this house cuvée…
Rebuy – No

2019 N&G Fevre, Chablis Vieilles-Vignes
Not more concentrated than the last, perhaps slightly less structural too – but more directly tasty without the small hint of green. I like this a lot – as could be seen how quickly the bottle was emptied!
Rebuy – Yes

2010 Nicolas Rossignol, Pommard Les Vignots
Medium coloured – and the colour’s starting to show a little age too. That’s a very appealing nose – almost touched with elegance despite a small graphite mineral accent. Even more elegance, and here is some silk to the texture too. The small note of graphite is also showing in the finish. I like the shape of this – it’s elegant yet has some proper structure. A delicious middleweight wine – yum!
Rebuy – Yes

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From the frontline… 2022 vintage update on Bastille Day…

By billn on July 14, 2022 #vintage 2022

Over the past week, the temperatures have been roughly ‘average’ and the wind has been steady. Weather that has not been particularly favourable to the onset of veraison yet it has started, without pause, anyway! In many plots – not just the early ones – you can already find the first veraisoned berries and twitter/instagram is full of the images – even for the whites!

Of course, last week’s ‘average’ temperatures have made way for more sustained heat this week and a forecast that’s not dipping below 30°C – indeed nearer to 35°C – for the next 10 days. Heat spikes are expected, with peaks that could reach 38-40°C, even in the shade. Given the volume of rain in the last 3 weeks, it’s unlikely that the vines will shut down – some vigneron(ne)s claiming that it wouldn’t matter if there was no more rain between now and the harvest – others remain more circumspect.

To date, it appears that 2022 is at the same stage of growth (earliness!) as 2011, 2007 and also 2018 – which is to say 2.5 weeks ahead of last year and just a few days behind 2020. The current dryness is keeping all of the usual maladies in check and despite hail and frost (etcetera) this year, the average yield is looking rather high…

And for your fun you can look at the before and after photos of the soil at the bottom of Gevrey’s Clos Saint Jacques – first after June’s heavy rain and then after ‘preparing’ the mound of soil to return up the hillside:

Clos St.Jacques 24 June

Clos St.Jacques 05 July

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more weekend wines – week 27 2020

By billn on July 13, 2022 #degustation

Even stretching into the start of week 28 😉

2019 Raphael Chopin, Beaujolais Funambule
The no sulfur cuvée of declassified BJV
A year ago this was so impressively delicious and juicy – a bravo wine. A year down the line it’s still delicious but just a little less juicy so showing more finishing sweetness. No faults, just a bit less ‘bravo’ – still a very tasty wine!
Rebuy – Yes

And because of the hot weather, plenty of Chablis:

2020 Wengier, Chablis
A wine with the merest hint of the characteristic 2020 pyrazines – but there is more to find in the flavours. Structural and this is a punchy wine of some class. Very drinkable despite the green notes – if I was less sensitive to the greens it would be a definite rebuy for its proper Chablis minerality and punch – but I am, so…
Rebuy – No

2019 Alice & Olivier de Moor, Chablis Clardy & Rosette
Oof – now this has a more obviously bracing acidity than the 2020 (despite the reverse ‘averages’ of the vintages) but my palate quickly makes the adjustment to get with the flow of this super wine. So mouth-watering with great Chablis intensity. That’s a really excellent 2019 – and completely delicious.
Rebuy – Yes

2018 Céline & Frédéric Gueguen, Chablis Cuvée 1995
Not the oldest vines of the domaine but made as a separate cuvée as it’s the birthyear of both Céline & Frédéric!
After the previous two wines, here was a sense of calm – both aromatically and in the flavours too. We could be cynical and presume that to be the high yields of the vintage on full display – yet – here is a wine with good concentration and just a little extra citrus bitters as you head into the finish. Easy-drinking Chablis but still a worthwhile drink. For what it’s worth, I also find the 2019 Côte de Beaune whites are currently more interesting drinks than their 2018 counterparts.
Rebuy – Maybe

2012 Comte Georges de Vogüé, Chambolle-Musigny
The first bottle from this 6-pack. 2012s (in general, not just at de Vogüé) were brilliant, pre-bottling, with their fine structure and mega-appealing clarity of flavour. Then the vast majority tightened and were obviously for the long-haul. It’s nice to see that some wines might be re-opening:
Lots of colour. The nose has a bit of oaky funk about it but it’s also very forward and welcoming – air reducing the oak a little and accentuating the smaller complexities – that’s a great start. In the mouth I’m reminded of the structural shape of the vintage – I like! – but also the impressive middle and finishing energy on display from this ‘mere’ villages (yes, it does contain some 1er grapes.) Some was left for day 2 and the obvious clarity of the flavour has not been dulled, nor are there any unwelcome developments like brett. I am very happy with this first bottle!
Rebuy – Yes

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offer of the day – bruno clair – 2020s

By billn on July 10, 2022 #the market

From my usual Swiss merchant. In brackets, where offered, are the previous prices of the 2019s, 2018s, 2017s and the 2016s, — indicates not offered:

Domaine Bruno Clair
Marsannay Blanc 2020 75cl 35.00 (—, 28.00, —, —) * (Swiss Francs)
Corton Charlemagne Grand Cru 2020 75cl — (—, 145.00, —, —)

Marsannay 2020 75cl — (34.00, —, 32.00, —)
Marsannay Les Grasses Têtes 2020 75cl 49.00 (42.00, 39.00, —,—)
Marsannay Les Longeroies 2020 75cl 49.00 (42.00, 40.00, —, —)

Savigny-les-Beaune Les Jarrons 1er Cru 2020 75cl 53.00 (49.50, 48.00, 48.00, —)
Savigny-les-Beaune La Dominode 1er Cru 2020 75cl 69.00 (—, 59.00, —, —)

Vosne-Romanée Perdrix 75cl 2020 99.00
Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Charmes 2020 75cl 149.00

Gevrey-Chambertin Clos du Fonteny 1er Cru 2020 75cl 130.00 (119.00, 119.00, 105.00, 115.00)
Gevrey-Chambertin Les Cazetiers 1er Cru 2020 75cl 160.00 (145.00, 145.00, 139.00, —)
Gevrey-Chambertin Clos Saint-Jacques 1er Cru 2020 75cl 249.00 (228.00, 215.00, 189.00, —)
Gevrey-Chambertin Clos Saint-Jacques 1er Cru 2020 150cl 518.00 (476.00, —, —, —)

Bonnes-Mares Grand Cru 2020 75cl 395.00 (335.00, 335.00, 298.00, 325.00)
Bonnes-Mares Grand Cru 2020 150cl 810.00 (690.00, —, —, —)

Chambertin Clos de Bèze Grand Cru 2020 75cl 395.00 (335.00, 335.00, 298.00, 325.00)
Chambertin Clos de Bèze Grand Cru 2020 150cl 810.00 (690.00, —, —, —)

The prices are always high for this combination of producer and merchant – but this remains a favourite producer of mine…
*As always with this merchant – there’s an additional Swiss purchase tax of 7.7% to add, but then the prices are delivered…

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this week’s wines, including ‘Who is the new Domaine René Engel?’

By billn on July 07, 2022 #degustation #warning - opinion!

Dinner with friends in Pommard and some lovely, eclectic, wines.

The first bottle was a lovely 2011 Comtes Champagne – with some lovely menthol aromatic complexity. Then came the:

2012 Fontaine-Gagnard, Le Montrachet
Deeper colour and the first nose was more monolithic – some sulfur-reduction hardening things – affecting the palate too – but aeration brought more comfort, more dimension and less sulfur! Such a concentrated flavour and shape to this wine – it’s such a baby – still! Very impressed, rather than wowed – yet – it has the material that good bottles will easily outlast me!
Rebuy – Maybe

2014 Jean Chartron, Puligny-Montrachet 1er Folatières
So much more open and so much more aromatically direct – complex, citrus energy – just such a great invitation. Like the nose the flavours more open and energetic and accessible than the Montrachet but never with the weight and concentration of the older wine. But in terms of drinking, this was clearly the white to go for today.
Rebuy – Yes

1996 Vincent Girardin, Volnay 1er Clos des Chênes
Plenty of browning but still a good depth of colour. The aromas reminded me of the many 1996 recently drunk – complex – not harsh – inviting, and unlike the reputation of the domaine at this time – not much oak influence is visible today. This was a very tasty wine – I’d be happy to spend an evening just with this bottle.
Rebuy – Yes

And now, here is the question…

Who is the new Domaine René Engel? Over the last few years, many people have asked me this question. More often than not they are looking for the next domaine whose wines could jump to the ‘superstar level’ of pricing so that they can jump in and later cash in! With pricing in mind, I rarely attempt to answer this question but there is another perspective.

For this other perspective, it’s important to define what was Domaine René Engel: Up until the loss of Philippe Engel in 2005 the wines of this domaine were never considered to be on the same ‘superstar’ or ‘sought after’ level as newly emerging domaines such as Comte Liger-Belair or older domaines such as Méo-Camuzet. But as a counterpoint to the more oaked and sometimes structural wines of Grivot and various domaines ‘Gros,’ the wines of Engel were always accessible and delicious – they were also very well priced when compared to his neighbours. Most were drunk young – as those of any ‘less expensive’ domaine. But those bottles that have been saved – helped by today’s prices shooting for the stars; €3k is now average for a bottle of 1999 Engel Grands-Echézeaux – have shown that accessible and balanced is no barrier to ageing with grace whilst remaining delicious.

With this latter perspective in mind, I’m always happy and open with my thoughts and was reminded of this during a tasting with friends in Pommard this week. One-time contemporary of Philippe Engel and Mr Consistent in terms of a similar easy deliciousness I openly suggest Frederic Esmionin. His Estournelles St.Jacques is an absolute cracker and his Ruchottes-Chambertin is all that you could wish for from a grand cru – but just look at his tariff – at least in the context of many neighbours in the Côte de Nuits. It’s a shame that his long-term lease of the Ruchottes-Chambertin parcel will come to an end in 2031 when it will return to the current (new) owners – Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy’s Domaine des Lambrays – the price of this wine will probably (at least) triple when grapes have to take the long trip to Morey Saint-Denis!

Confined to his wheelchair it is not Fred Esmonin who does the work in the vines or in the cuvérie – it is still mainly his father, André, who is also getting on in years – I hope that between them they can keep going until 2031!

Anyway, back to the wines:

1999 Frederic Esmonin, Ruchottes-Chambertin
MOre modest colour after the 1996 Girardin. What a great nose – open, a faintly smoky complexity but still a fine and complex red fruit style – zero issues with this fine, clean nose. The palate – yes – broad, mouth-filling, good energy and still just a small lick of the structural tannins. Absolutely delicious wine. Really in great shape and (red) wine of the night..
Rebuy – Yes

2001 Louis Latour, Corton
It’s so rare to see older Latours that I was really looking forward to this one. I find young Lators usually closed and uninteresting but my experience of older bottles is almost always positive – this one wasn’t going to change my mind on that.
Darker, younger colour. The nose a little more mineral and dark fruited. More structural scale – as you might expect from Corton – and a wine that’s clearly going to need a few more years to be as drinkable as the Esmonin – yet – here is good dark fruit, properly Corton in shape but without hard edges – and has a finish of wonderful, if still young, grand cru energy. A wine with so many positives – well done.
Rebuy – Yes

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wines of weekend 26 2022 – including an ultra-rare Ponsot

By billn on July 05, 2022 #degustation

First, something of a rarity – a Ponsot 1994.

Laurent Ponsot recounted to me this week that “In 1994 most of my neighbours picked a bit too early and had grapes full of rot. Me, (he said with a smile) I picked a bit too late and also had grapes full of rot! The wines were not very good and not something I wanted to put my label on, so I sent them all for distillation.” I pointed out that the de Chézeaux Griotte of 1994 proudly proclaimed him as the producer; “Yes, it’s true. I told the Mercier family (owners of his metayage parcels) what I was doing with my wines but they refused to follow – so for their contracted share of the crop, I had to deliver the bottles.”

1994 des Chézeaux/Ponsot, Griotte-Chambertin
The colour is not bad – certainly no browning here. An intriguing nose – a suggestion of the balsamic but there was no real oxidative character – despite a cork that crumbled into pieces and did, itself, smell very sherried! Still there was a certain hardness to the aromas that couldn’t really be described as an invitation to drink. In the mouth, slightly metallic – but not blood/iron – quite mouth-filling and with balanced acidity – but still, like the nose, with a certain hardness. I drank only one glass and returned the bottle to the fridge. On day two the aromas and flavours were more relaxed – this was a very stable wine with no obvious faults and it was certainly better on day two when I could manage two glasses! Because of its scarcity, Griotte is exceptionally expensive these days but this particular bottle was worth no more than €20 – and only for the experience – so if you find one, you have been warned!
Rebuy – No

1995 Jean Grivot, Vosne-Romanée Les Bossières
The 95s and 96s of Grivot – for a long time – could only be described as monolithic wines. Despite (selling!) merchants describing new approaches and ‘wonderful clarity’ in the early 2000s. then the mid-2000s, then again in the early 2010s, etcetera, etcetera, for me it was the same-old, same-old story. Only in the last 2-3 years have I seen the stirrings of real extra clarity and accessibility in the hands of Mathilde Grivot that make me want to return to taste new vintages. But let’s return to the 95s and 96s: After years of being uninteresting, in the last couple of years I have found many of these Grivot wines to be opening and really delivering some impressive performances – at last. Memorably there was this Richebourg but others have begun to deliver too, such as a 96 Nuits Boudots at a tasting, last week, of 1996s (to come for subscribers) and this 1995 too. Note, another rather spongy cork that was never, ever, going to be released from the neck in one piece!
Medium, medium-plus colour with a very subtle browning at the rim. This nose shows a small suggestion of both caramel and spice – maybe even a little cigar – it is a good invitation to drink, having no obvious faults. In the mouth nicely – but not overly – structural with good balance and whilst still underpinned by a little tannin there is no-longer any harshness to this experience. Decent length and nicely clean finishing – another glass? I don’t mind if I do. Finally, this is very good and another stable wine – like the Ponsot – zero problems with the wine on day 2.
Rebuy – Maybe

2020 Jean Chartron, Puligny-Montrachet
A direct nose with some stone fruit that was accented with florals. Such flavour energy and a growing intensity to this flavour too – really a mouth-watering and energetic wine – tension indeed. It’s lovely – topped off with a vibrantly tasty finish. Excellent villages and very Puligny…
Rebuy – Yes

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week 26 2022 – the vintage so far (after the deluge…)

By billn on June 28, 2022 #vintage 2022

Gevrey’s Clos St.Jacques after the heavy rains – somebody’s going to have to take that earth back up the hill…

Well, there has been a lot of rain in the last few days – nearly 160mm recorded in Gevery-Chambertin, 21-27 June – a volume of water that brought soil to the bottom of the hills and ripped new channels through the vineyard roads and paths.

As you move south, the volume of rain slowly receded to between 50-80mm in the southern half of the Côte d’Or. The rain of 21-June focused on the north Côte de Nuits (Brochon, Fixin, Couchey). That of 22-June was more in the northern Côte de Beaune, the Côte de Nuits and the Hautes-Côtes with much variabilty in the Hautes Côtes depending on the particular valley. These first two stormy episodes were accompanied by hail in the north Côte de Beaune, including Chorey-les-Beaune and some of Ladoix plus in Côte de Nuits. Thursday 23-June, fortunately, brought only water and the same for the evening of Saturday 25-June.

In the Mâconnais, Fuissé, in one day, saw 50mm of rain – but in only 45 minutes! They had no hail, though other places, such as Vergisson, fared less well as there was hail mixed with the rain – losses are currently estimated at 30% – so much less than the hail of 2021 and, again, with the caveat that there was already a lot of grapes on the vines.

Hail always generates strong emotions, it’s for that reason that I like to wait a few days before reporting on the potential consequences. The syndicate of Gevery-Chambertin (image: Mazis-Chambertin, right) were quickly discussing potential (average!) losses of around 15% but there are a lot of grapes on the vines this year – despite the April frost – so, at this stage, it’s not necessarily going to be a lower volume vintage. As one well-known producer told me today “Several impacts of hail and a lot of earth down the slope…. but no significant reason to cry!”

Some of the grape clusters were not looking good – as is always the case with hail – but we have a forecast with 7-10 days of reasonably stable weather and warm temperatures that will likely dry these damaged grapes and give them the chance of dropping to the floor. Biodynamic domaines in Gevrey were already spraying their teas of tisane on Friday afternoon. From Beaune south, there are hardly any hail impacts as of today.

It’s patchy in Beaujolais too; poor Fleurie has some damage – it seems that if there’s hail, they always get it – but in Brouilly there was none and so forth. All told, nearly 500 hectares of Beaujolais has some hail damage – it sounds a lot (it is!) but it’s still only 3.5% of the 14,500 hectares that they have planted. It’s the sectors of Blacé, Saint Julien and the slopes of Arnas that have been most touched.

As noted, the forecast is largely good with temperatures approaching 30°C in the next 10 days – rot remains under control, for now, so steady as she goes…

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A new Burgundy Report

By billn on June 23, 2022 #reports

A new Burgundy Report with an additional 20 domaines from in and around Chablis to add to the 64 tasted in January – that’s 84 domaines’ 2020s – and there’s more too!
Nobody gives you more…

Here

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The mid-summer vintage update – 2022 steady as she goes – but fast!

By billn on June 21, 2022 #vintage 2021

There’s been no attenuation to the advancement of the vine growth in the last week. There have been a few (helpful!) bursts of rain in the last 2 weeks since I updated you – nicely regular on the 02, 09 and 15 June – but also with high temperatures too – in the last week, 36-38°C have been measured in the vines.

Not since the 2005 vintage have temperatures been so high in June – and in 2022 those temperatures have comfortably exceeded what was seen in 2005. The combination of occasional rain plus high temperatures is the engine of vine growth this year. Despite the episode of frost in early April, we are holding a similar course of precocious maturity to the 2003, 2011 and 2020 vintages when measured at the same time – i.e. 3-4 days ahead of 2007, 2015, 2017 and 2018 – ie, other vintages with August harvesting.

Current estimates are for veraison (the grapes starting to change colour) suggest the 10-15 July. Given that dry days that have followed each delivery of rain, it’s no surprise that mildew is quite rare. On the other hand, as it is the morning dew that helps oïdium, this is where the growers’ concerns are currently most focused – but for now, the treatments have the upper hand. Black rot is a rarer problem – but was found in the Côte d’Or – and more-so in Beaujolais – in 2021 but seems largely absent at this stage of vine growth.